Yo Ho Ho Ho! A Pirate's Life For Brook
by kilnorc
Summary: One night, during dinner aboard the Thousand Sunny, Brook reflects on the past fifty years as well as his new family...the Straw Hat Pirates.


**Yo Ho Ho Ho! A Pirate's Life For Brook**

**Disclaimer: Don't own One Piece.**

**Kilnorc: Since "Dead Bones" Brook is now officially a Straw Hat Pirate, I figured I had to do this for this very crazy character. Enjoy!**

**Also, to those who don't know my work, I DO keep true to the original anime and manga, with the only exception of using Roronoa Zolo instead of Roronoa Zoro. Why? Because I feel more comfortable with the first one than the second. Other than that, I keep true to the original as much as possible. **

**----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

"Oi! Everyone! Dinner's ready!"

The sound of rampaging footsteps filled the air moments before the Thousand Sunny's galley door burst open, letting the night air into the kitchen and dining room of the large ship as most of the Straw Hat Pirates raced in to get a taste of their chef's delicious feast. The only ones that didn't barge into the room were Robin, Nami, and the latest addition to the Straw Hat Pirates, Brook, the so called "Gentleman Skeleton" who often pigged out at meals and constantly asked for the females of the crew to show him their panties.

"Sanji-kun, what's on the menu tonight?" Nami asked sweetly as she took a seat between Zolo and Robin.

The blonde, curly-brow chef smiled proudly as he lay out a set of mouth-watering dishes, "Well, Nami-san, tonight's meal includes a large collection of fettucine pasta which is served with parsley, Parmesan cheese, and large cuts of chicken. On the sides, we have slowly cooked ramen, covered in a fine layer of different spices, and a plate of steamed shrimp.

"Whatever, shitty cook, as long as we can eat it, we're fine," Zolo muttered, slapping the mentioned food onto his plate.

Sanji glared at him, "Marimo...!"

"Chef-chan!" Brook waved at him, "We have any milk left?"

The tall pirate sighed and walked to the refrigerator, "I swear, the only ones who appreciate my skills are Nami-san and Robin-chan," he grabbed a large bottle of milk as well as some glasses and brought them to the table for his nakama, "Yosh, everyone eat-,"

As soon as he said that word, everyone but Robin and Nami began to pig out on his food. Sanji sighed and shook his head, smiling, "Everytime...," he chuckled and sat down alongside his nakama.

While everyone ate and talked about anything that came to mind, Brook sat quietly (for once), eating Sanji's cooking slowly. He didn't have any problems with Sanji's cooking skills, far from it, it was just that he had something on his mind lately. He lifted his bony head, looking at his new nakama and reflected on when he met them all for the first time

-Flashback-

_"Yohohoho!" Brook lifted his hat off his large afro as he stood on the beautiful deck of the Thousand Sunny, looking on at Luffy's crew, "Good day to you all! Nice to meet you! Myself and this ship has certainly caused you some trouble. You may call me 'Dead Bones' Brook! It's a pleasure to meet you!"_

_"Don't joke around!" Franky, Usopp, and Zolo shouted together, "Who the hell is this guy?!"_

_"Yohohoho!" Brook waved at them, "Now, now, don't be so uptight!"_

_"It's a skeleton!" Chopper cried, holding up a silver cross as Luffy chuckled._

_Brook looked around and laid his eye sockets on Robin. He walked over to her, "What a beautiful woman! Would you mind showing me your panties?"_

**_BONK!_**

_"STOP THAT YOU SEXUALLY HARASSING SKELETON!" Nami screamed at him._

-End Flashback-

"Oi, Brook, you okay?"

Brook came out his thoughts and memories to find everyone else was looking at him. He nodded quickly and rose from his seat, "Please, excuse me, everyone," he said politely before heading out to the front of the Thousand Sunny.

Luffy swallowed his large portion of pasta, "What's wrong with him?"

"I don't know, but it must be something," Sanji lit a cigarette, "Usually, he eats like you guys and gets his bony face all messy...somehow," he glanced at the table, "He didn't even touch his milk,"

Outside, Brook stood on the grassy lawn of the deck, gazing upward at the beautiful starry sky. The skeleton sighed quietly as the light wind made small bits of his large afro sway in the wind.

"It's been fifty years. Fifty long years...," he stuffed his hands into his pockets, "...Captain Yorki and the rest of the Rumba Pirates are gone, Laboon's still waiting for me at Reverse Mountain, and I'm no longer trapped in the dark fogs of the Flourian Triangle," he looked down at his feet, no, at his shadow, "...and after five years, I have my shadow back. It's all because of these good people that I have a chance to keep my promise to that whale from my past,"

"You know, if you talk to yourself, people will think you're crazy, Brook,"

Brook chuckled as he heard Zolo walk up to him, "Maybe. Zolo, will do you me a favor?" the skeleton asked, turning to him.

Zolo raised an eyebrow, "What is it?"

"Spar with me?"

-----

"Are you sure you want to do this now, dinner's still waiting in the dining room," Zolo said as he took his place across from Brook.

The musician nodded as he unsheathed his shikomizue, "Besides my music, training has put my mind at ease. This is also a good opportunity for you to practice using _Shuusui_," he pointed out, "Even with the battle with Moria, Oz, and Kuma afterwards, I still remember that very well,"

Zolo smiled as he withdrew his replacement for _Yubashiri_, "So do I,"

-Flashback-

_Brook lay on the floor of Hogback's laboratory, greatly wounded by the zombie of Samurai Ryuuma, the famous swordsman of the New World who slew a dragon. He had come to reclaim his shadow, but once again, he faced defeat. To his surprise, he found his soon-to-be nakama at his side._

_"Oi! Skeleton! You're really messed up!" Franky knelt down and helped him up a little, "You're alive, right?!"_

_"Ah...ah...," Brook wheezed, feeling the fatigue from the battle with Ryuuma's zombie, "You...why are you here?"_

_"Yohoho!" Ryuuma laughed as he approached them, "This is a problem!! To brazenly embrace such a loser!"_

_Both cyborg and skeleton were about to be skewered by the samurai's swords, but was saved by Zolo's own katana._

_"Hold on a sec," Zolo looked up at him as held the enemy's blade at bay, "It's you, isn't it? The one who slew a dragon? I've always wanted to meet you!" he suddenly pushed the sword away and advanced on the zombie._

_Brook stared in amazement, "...he...he pushed him back! Just what is he?!"_

_Franky smiled, "A militant santoryu pirate swordsman. He's pretty strong, and if your pride will allow it, what do you say that to letting him take over and recover your shadow?"_

_The skeleton's jaw dropped, "My shadow...honestly?! By all means...please!" he struggled to sit up, his stare focused on Zolo, "Please, I beg you...! My shadow! Get it back for me!!"  
_

-End Flashback-

"I remember that fight well," Brook quickly brought his cane sword upward to block Zolo's thrust, "Even though he was a corpse, Samurai Ryuuma still had the Power of Destruction within him. The power I witnessed in your battle was amazing! The laboratory itself was being torn apart from your battle!"

Zolo smirked, "I know, but between us, that battle didn't count. Though, it wasn't a waste," he looked at _Shuusui_, which was one of the 21 _O Wazamono swords_, "I was able to find a replacement for _Yubashiri_,"

_Yubashiri..._ Brook's mind began to wander once again to the past, to the happy days after Thriller Bark fell and after they were all spared by Bartholomew Kuma, one of the Shichibukai.

-Flashback-

_The skeleton musician sat in front of the beautiful gravestone that Franky and Usopp created for his old nakama, the Rumba Pirates. From Captain Yoki, to everyone else on that ship that died, their memory was honored in the graveyard, whose soil was from their homeland of the West Blue._

_As Brook played a song on his violin, loud footsteps reached him and the undead pirate turned to see Zolo sitting down, one of his katana sheathes thrust into the ground in front of him._

_"Are you in good health now?"_

_Zolo chuckled, "Yeah, but I overslept a bit,"_

_Brook looked at the sword in the ground, "That katana is...?"_

_"A dead katana," Zolo placed his hands together and bowed his head, "Please, let me have a memorial for Yubashiri as well,"_

-End Flashback-

"Whatever happened to that sword?" Brook asked as their sparring session ended, both swordsman having gotten a fair amount of practice in.

Zolo leaned against the railing, "Before entering the Flourian Triangle, Robin was abducted by the World Government and we all went to save her. On the Judiciary Island of Enies Lobby, we fought with everything we had to save her. During our escape, a bastard Marine with the Sabi Sabi no Mi touched the sword and I watched as it rusted and fell apart at my feet,"

"Yohoho! Bad luck, eh?"

The santoryu master nodded, "It usually finds us wherever we go, but we also manage to come out on top," he jerked a thumb to the rowdy dining room, "Luffy's come along way since I first met him. He saved me from being executed, he saved a village from a psychopathic butler, he defeated a pirate admiral who had an arsenal of weaponry, a sadistic Fishman who had Nami enslaved, a Shichibukai who ran a crime syndicate, a so-called God of the Sky, secret assassins of the World Government, an undead giant, and now another Shichibukai,"

Brook whistled, "That boy is something!"

Again, Zolo nodded, "Yeah. Of course, he has to be something in order to be the next Pirate King,"

"It seems I made the right choice in pledging my life to him, eh?" Brook looked over his shoulder to the galley, "It'll be quite a sight, seeing him finding One Piece and taking the Pirate King's throne,"

"If you think that'll be impressive," Zolo shot a smug glance at him, "Wait until you see me cut down Hawkeye Mihawk and take the title of World's Greatest Swordsman!"

"Yohohohoho! I'd love to see that as well,"

-----

"Hey, they're back!"

Brook waved at his nakama as he sat down at the kitchen table again, this time, feeling as hungry as he used to, driftinng aimlessly in the Flourian Triangle. He slowly looked at all his nakama and couldn't help but smile, though with his face, it was hard to tell if he was smiling at the time.

"Straw Hat" Luffy.

"Pirate Hunter" Zolo.

"Cat Burglar" Nami.

"Sogeking" (or Usopp as his unmasked alias went by).

"Cyborg" Franky.

"Demon Child" Nico Robin.

"Black Leg" Sanji.

"Cotton Candy Lover" Chopper

and finally...

"Humming" Brook.

These were his nakama now. While he still held Captain Yoki, the Rumba Pirates, and Laboon in his heart (though he didn't have a heart at all), he loved this group of strange people. While they were different from them, this crew reminded him a great deal of the Rumba Pirates.

Brook finished his meal, drank all his milk and leaned back, letting out a loud burp and a fart to show Sanji appreciation for the meal.

"Oi! Brook!" Luffy leapt up onto the table, "Play a song for us!"

Again, the skeleton smiled, "Got it, Captain. Anyone have any requests?"

Sanji looked thoughtful for a few moments, "How about-,"

"Bink's Sake it is, then!" Brook laughed as he went to collect his violin from it's case.

"STOP DOING THAT!" Sanji screamed at him, "STOP ASKING PEOPLE FOR REQUESTS IF YOU'RE NOT GONNA GIVE THEM A CHANCE TO PICK!"

"Yohohoho! Don't be so uptight, Chef-chan!" Brook laughed as he placed his violin under his chin.

Soon enough, the entire dining room was void of screaming and was soon filled with joyous music.

_Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho,  
Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho,  
Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho,  
Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho,  
_

_Going to deliver Bink's Sake!  
Following the sea breeze!  
Riding on the waves!  
Far across the salty deeps!  
The merry evening sun!  
Painting circles in the sky!  
as the Birds Sing  
_

_Farewell to the harbour,  
To my old hometown  
Lets all sing out with a Don!  
As the ship sail  
Waves of gold and silver  
dissolve to salty spray  
As we all set sail to  
The ends of the sea  
_

_Going to deliver Bink's Sake!  
We are pirates  
Sailing through the Seas  
The waves are our pillows  
The ship our roost  
Flying the proud Skull  
On our flags and our sails  
_

_Now comes a storm  
Through the far-off sky  
Now the waves are dancing  
Beat upon the drums  
If you loose your nerve  
This breath could be your last  
But if you hold on,  
The morning sun will rise  
_

_Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho,  
Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho,  
Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho,  
Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho,  
_

_Going to deliver Bink's Sake!  
Today, tomorrow,  
our dreams through the night!  
Waving our goodbyes,  
we'll never meet again!  
But don't look down;  
For at night the moon will rise  
_

_Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho,  
Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho,  
Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho,  
Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho,  
_

_Going to deliver Bink's Sake!  
Let's all sing it with a Don!  
A song of the waves  
Doesn't matter who you are,  
Someday you'll just be bones  
Never-Ending, Ever-wandering,  
Our funny Traveling tale!  
_

_Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho,  
Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho,  
Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho,  
Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho,_

Brook, though happy to know that his dear friend Laboon was alive and waiting for him back at Reverse mountain, was even happier at this moment. It wasn't because he was playing one of his favorite songs, or that he was out of the Flourian Triangle, or that he even had his shadow back.

It was because he had a family now.

He wasn't alone anymore.

"Ladies, may I see your panties?"

_BONK!_

"PERVERT SKELETON!"

**END**

**----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Kilnorc: There, it's finished -sighs- I hope this was good. I typed what I felt I should write, and I hope you enjoyed it. Though it is very obvious, I will state this fact:**

**This entire oneshot is dedicated to one my favorite Straw Hat Pirates, Brook! Welcome to the team, bonehead...keep looking to the future, and let us pray that you reunite with Laboon. **


End file.
